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When Garrett Petters, a 29-year-old architect in Dallas, and his girlfriend travelled to Paris last year, one of their favourite parts was eating out. They enjoyed French duck, andouillette, plenty of bread, cheese and coffee and even escargot.
But it wasn’t just Paris’s cuisine they admired. It was also the different tipping culture. “We were talking about how nice it is in Europe that they pay their waiters and waitresses and we don’t have to tip because of it, and isn’t that cool,” Petters said. It felt very different from back in the US, where tipping culture felt “out of control”.
Tipping has been a longstanding practice in US businesses, where service workers often make less than the federal minimum wage and rely on gratuities to make a living. But starting half a decade ago, when the pandemic disrupted everyday life and injected danger into frontline jobs, tipping increased – and then began to creep into new sectors. Now people say it is inescapable.
Responding to a Guardian callout asking whether their tipping habits have changed recently, people shared their experiences and views on tipping – with many suggesting they are now fighting back against “tip-creep”.
Self-checkouts, drive-throughs, hotdog stands, drug stores, a bottled water stall at a jazz festival, an airport vending machine, a used bookstore, a cinema box office, a children’s arcade – these are a handful of the surprising places people reported being asked for tips, with several suggesting companies were taking advantage of new social expectations on gratuities.
“Before, tipping was considered generosity,” Petters said. “Now, it’s about guilt.”
But a backlash could be brewing, with gratuities falling from a pandemic peak. Average full-service restaurant tips in the fourth quarter of 2024 fell to 19.3%, which is a six-year US low and down from a high of 19.9% in the first quarter of 2021, according to data from Toast.
Petters said he was adding less on to the bill now, in the hopes employers would be forced to increase pay for staff. But when he mentioned this to acquaintances working service jobs, he added, some people became angry. “I just said, ‘Why aren’t you mad at your boss for not paying you a liveable wage?’
“I think business owners are really taking advantage of the situation.”
He is concerned by how companies relying on tips to subsidise wages can make workers especially vulnerable to how generous customers are feeling – which could prove disastrous during a recession.
The ubiquity of electronic point-of-sale (POS) cash registers – which spin round and offer a gratuity option – is another reason for tip-creep. In one of Tom Schultz’s local grocery stores in Denver, Colorado recently, the 75-year-old said he took a can of olive oil to the counter and was asked for a tip. “We’re confronted with this at every transaction,” said Schultz, a retired lawyer and musician.
Schultz said he enjoyed chatting to cashiers, sharing a smile or joke and experiencing a brief connection. In general, he felt “very comfortable just saying ‘no tip’” when there was not genuine service, but “there’s always a bit of tension involved” given the server is typically standing right there.
“It’s always a bit unsettling, it’s uncomfortable,” he said, adding that the workers’ themselves often seemed ashamed about being forced by their employers to request a tip. The impact, Schultz said, is it could become “a barrier to real communication with human beings”.
For Ellen, a 33-year-old career cook in Worcester, Massachusetts, the rules of tipping while growing up were easy to grasp: 18% was standard for restaurants, perhaps adjusted upwards 5% for exceptional service. She worked as a barista for a year before Covid-19 so knew the importance of tips.
Now, she said, it felt as if the social rules on tipping have come unstuck, and establishments often feature a “suggested tip” starting at 25%. “It seems rude to me,” she said.
“I feel like businesses are trying to guilt-trip me into tipping more, which I resent,” Ellen added. Recently she has been selecting the lowest option, or not tipping at all for workers covered by regular minimum wage laws, such as at grocery stores and counter-serve stations.
“It feels sort of countercultural, like a little rebellion to not tip, as if you’re saying, ‘No, I will not tip, who are you to even ask me?’” she said.
It’s a similar story for Ian, a 46-year-old home caregiver in Springfield, Missouri, who has recently felt fatigued by the ubiquity of tip screens.
“I’m just not going to be guilt-tripped by those outfacing POS systems any more. My rule will be, just coffee shops and restaurants and bars from now on,” or places with a personalised service like a massage or haircut.
Some people, however, told the Guardian they have chosen to become more generous with gratuities recently.
“I tip more now as I believe, thanks to the gig economy, more people are working harder for less,” said Robert Healey, a 68-year-old bus driver in San Jose, California. “I probably overtip, unless the server treats me like crap.” Healey added, because his pay was above-average, he was happy to tip to support lower-income workers.
But ideally he wanted to see jobs paying subminimum wages, such as many bar roles, abolished. “Everyone working should be covered by the minimum wage,” he said.
In Tampa, Florida, 62-year-old Sandra said she has increased her tip percentage from 15% to 20% or 25% recently in response to tough times locally.
“Three major storms in 2024 in my area, combined with ongoing Covid issues, have devastated some of my neighbours,” she said. “From the tow guy, to the nice lady who works at the laundromat, to waiters – Florida is focused on service and hospitality jobs, and I see pain in people’s eyes.”
Sandra added: “Maybe a nice tip won’t change their life, but maybe the tip can help them put gas in the car or help with buying groceries.”
Donald Trump, meanwhile, has said he wants to eliminate taxes on tips, but critics say this would further incentivise the spread of tipping culture and low wages – making more workers’ incomes vulnerable to fluctuations in generosity. Whatever the outcome of the president’s policy, for now it looks as if US tipping culture is here to stay.
When Healey was at a Mexican restaurant with family recently, at the end of the meal, he put down “tip – $0” for his card payment. He was worried after seeing “outrageous” stories about companies pocketing tips from workers, Healey said. So instead, as they left, he handed a generous cash tip directly to the servers.
“These are the people who are doing the work,” he said.
